Martin Bashir is “seriously unwell” due to complications relating from the coronavirus, a spokesperson from the BBC has said.
The 57-year-old was confirmed to have contracted Covid-19, the BBC confirmed.
A spokesperson told Daily Star Online: “We are sorry to say that Martin is seriously unwell with Covid-19 related complications. Everyone at the BBC is wishing him a full recovery. We’d ask that his privacy, and that of his family, is respected at this time.”
The BBC News Religious Affairs correspondent has been largely absent from social media recently.
However there is sure to be a large buzz around him this week as his 1995 Panorama interview with Princess Diana is brought back into the spotlight.
The controversial interview is covered in a Channel 4 documentary, which aired tonight (Wednesday).
The documentary – Diana: The Truth Behind the Interview – looks at the ethics surrounding the notorious chat and how it came to be.
Martin Bashir is ‘seriously unwell’ from Covid complications (Image: PA)
It is alleged that the late Royal took the BBC interview after her brother, Earl Spencer, was shown forged bank statements which were created by someone working for the BBC.
They reportedly showed payments worth £10,500 from two companies – one being News International and another from a made up establishment.
The BBC has since confirmed the document was shown to Earl Spencer but that they also had a letter from Diana confirming that was not the reason she did the interview.
Martin interviewed Princess Diana for Panorama (Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
A spokesperson said: “The BBC itself no longer possesses a physical copy of this note, and this could not release it under FOI in 2007 or indeed now, but its existence is documented in the BBC’s records, and it was seen, at the time, by BBC management.
“Questions around the ‘mocking-up’ of bank statements were covered in the press a quarter of a century ago.
“BBC records from the period indicate that while we understand the documents were shown to Earl Spencer, they were not shown to the Princess of Wales and that she had confirmed that they played no part in her decision to give what was, and still is, one of the most iconic interviews of the last half of the twentieth century.”
While Martin is well known for the Diana interview, he gained a new fan base last year when he took part in X Factor: Celebrity, making it to the live finals.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
